Convertible vehicle-body.



Patented; Feb. 8,1916.

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HINSDALE SMITH, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, .ASSIGNOR TO THE SPRING- FIELD BODY COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A. CORPORATION F MSSACHUSETTS.

CONVERTIBLE VEHICLEBOIDY.

Application led January 13, 1913. Serial No. 741,732.

' To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HINSDALE SMITH, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Springfield, in the Vcounty of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Convertible Vehicle-Bodies, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description. e

This invention relates to vehicle bodies and is more particularly designed for employment in a body for an automobile which is so convertible in character that it may be utilized as a closed vehicle resembling va limousine or landaulet, lor used as an open touring car.

The invention includes the novel combi- 'nationgand arrangement of a vehicle body proper. having a door opening and a door therefor,`hinged to the body, and a suitable window stop above the door opening, a window hinge connected on a horizontal' pivotaXis to an upper portion, of. the door at a point transversely located relatively to such upper door portion whereby the window y while swung upwardly on its hinge and on being bodily moved with the closing door will contact at its upper portion against the stop causing a slight swinging motion of the window relatively to the door such as to produce a tightening of the lower edge of the window against the top of the door forl the exclusion of dust, moisture or water and for anti-rattling effects. 'Y

The convertible body of the character to which this invention pertains is illustrated in an application for Letters Patent of the United States filed by me Feb. 20, 1911, No. 609,564, such body being characterized in part by the inclusion of a foldable top comprising a plurality of bows, the separated depending side members of which form or support the Window stop which constitutes an important provision in the present improvements.

The invention is described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and is set forth in the claims. I

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the convertible automobile body showing a window as in its elevated position in upward continuation with the window side door. Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view, on a somewhat larger PatentedFeb. 8, 1916.

-scale than that of Fig. 1, on line 2-2,there on, the door being understood as having the position not quite fully closed within the Y body. Fig. 3 is a View similar lto Fig. 2 but of an automobile body of which one of the doors B thereof is hinged at o c to swing outwardly as usual; and D represents a portion of the top comprising a plurality of bows certain of which vwhen the top is up have their lower ends detachably secured to the body to formvertical upright continuations of the body in lines with the vertical boundaries of the door opening.

The Window E, the glass portion of which is held in a suiiiciently substantial sashs connected toan upper portion of the door by a pair of hinges F F so that the window may be swung downwardly on the inner side of the door or swung upwardly to an upright position between the bows and as a continuation of the door. rlhe particular form of hingehere employed as havingv entire itness for the purpose is included in the subject matter or' an. application for Letters ljatent of the United States filed by' me May 11, 1911, Serial No. 626,735, the same being here illustrated in the perspective view, and it will be brieiiy described as follows :-Each hinge consists of a door attachment member g and a window attachment member h, suchfmembers being pivotally connected at k'; a bar m having the lower portion thereof pivoted to the door attachment member and arranged offset from and substantially parallel with such member for aswinging movement toward and. away therefrom, and at' right angles to the axis of. swinging movement of the window attachment memberg-.such bar, with a portion of the window attachment member adjacentf its pivot having, theone a channel with inwardly converging walls q, g', and the other a locking portion 'having tapering sides fr' r 4flor an engagement in the channel ;-a rod c rigidly supported by the door attachment member and extending loosely through and beyond the pivot bar m having a shoulder,` 1t at its outer end; and a spring o encircling said rod and in compression between the shoulder a and the bar m. a

The bows a a; have the jamb strips- I) b which, make the window stops, their'locations being gin plane coincidentwith or adjacent the inner face oit' the door.

The upper edge of the door as shown is provided with an upstanding rib t, and it is to be noted that the pivot-axis z. of the duplicated hinges F are on a line inside of and transversely from the upper portion of the door. It is also to be understood that each hinge F is of such character that when the window is swung upwardly, as shown in Fig. 2,-the portion of the bar having the lbeveled faces r r bottoming into the recess having the convergent faces g g in the portion of the window attachment member L,-'-. the window instead of .beiner yieldingly held in an absolutely vertical position will be held slightly upwardly and inwardly inclined. Theconditions or relations of the parts last mentioned are such as prevail when the door is almost; but not quiteM swung inwardly into the door opening to be fastened by the usualdor lock; and it will be perceived that the lower edge of the window has a clearance or slight separation from the upper edge of thedoor, and also that the upper inner corner, where the rear face and top edffe of the sash meet, acquires a bearinglagamst the window stop 'or jamb strips at the inner 'sides of the depending members of the bows comprised in the foldable top. New referring to Fig. 3, in comparison with Fie'. 2, it is here understoodI that the door B llas been forcedto its tully closed position and locked, or in readiness to be cohlined, by the usual door lock or latch. ln the forcing action 'of the parts from the position shown in Fig. 2 to thatA of Fig. 3, the upper portion of the window sash being resisted by the stop or jamb strips and the hinge axis being invariable, the

window necessarily has a motion and action similar to that of the member of a toggle with the result that the lower edge-ofthe windowfsash is crowded tightly against the top edgego the'door for the exclusion of dust, moisture, air onwatei; andthe door lock holding the parts inthe laststated positions and `'relations insures anv avoidance of any rattling or lost motion betweenfthe sash and thefparts against which .it is inpressure bearing.

The ribor head having its position along and upstanding above-theitop edge of the door is preferably composedvof rubber, felt,

or like compressible material so as to accom` modate, by compressionpmore or less to the 'downward movement foi' the sash which is derived by the latter in last stage of the door closing action; but this bead -or rib might be of brass or other non-compressible material without defeating or detracting from thev operativeness and eiliciency of my arrangement, because in the forcible complete closing of the door after Athe top 'of the sash had come to contact with the 'window stop, the stress on the sash would be sufficient to cause the window to become slightly convex as permitted by the flexible character of the latter and its consequent susceptibility of being slightly, although suiiiciently sprung `from its normal plane condition; or, again,

the bows might be of such yielding character as to permit the accommodation of the parts one to the other in the door olbsing action.

'.lhe spring hinge shown in Fig. 5 and hereinabove referred to, is of such construction and capability that when the window, by inversion 'is folded down closely against the-inside of the door, the engagement of the nose or tapered member of the spring-pressed bar m inthe channel between the convergent faces g, g', is elfective to prevent the window from flapping or swinging on its'hinge.

, ln order to swing the window from its folded down position at the inside of the door to the position slightly inclined Jfrom the vertical shown in' Fig. 2, it is necessary to. quite widely open the door; and when the window isswung to the last mentioned posi-'- tion, it is there retained by the detent action of the engagement faces r r and g, g', so that the window when bodilyl swung inwardly in unison withthe door, will not topple inwardly and downwardly; and it is to be explained that when the window derives its secondary motion for making the tight closure in the final stage of the door closing' action, the bevel faced nose is by the force of the door-closing action, crowded out of'r 1. The-sommation with a "vehicle bodyV1 having a "top `provided with I windowstop above the body, proper, .and having a door opening, a door therefor, hinged to the body, of a window jointed on a horizontal pivot-axis -to an 'upper portion of the'door at a point withoiit the plane of the door, and 

